$11.8 Million in Marcos Assets Frozen by Judge

Millions of dollars in assets, including a $4-million Beverly Hills home once listed as belonging to actor George Hamilton, were frozen in Los Angeles federal court Monday in a lawsuit filed by the Republic of the Philippines against former Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos.

U.S. District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer issued a temporary restraining order to “maintain the status quo” of approximately $11.8 million in cash, jewelry and real estate reportedly owned by Marcos and his wife, Imelda, in Southern California and Hawaii.

The lawsuit, which accuses Marcos of engaging in racketeering while serving as president, seeks more than $50 billion in damages and a court order to force the defendants to “disgorge themselves of any illegal profits.”

The restraining order listed the Beverly Hills home at 1085 Summit Drive, $675,000 in U.S. Treasury bills in the name of Imelda Marcos at Lloyds Bank of California and about $7 million in jewelry and other valuables in Hawaii as Marcos property.

The suit alleges that in March, about 13 days after Marcos and his wife fled the Philippines, they ordered Al Djebel, a Grand Cayman corporation named as a defendant, to acquire the Beverly Hills home.

Efforts to reach Hamilton were unsuccessful Monday night. He was not named in the suit.

The actor had said through a spokesman in early March that while he had met Imelda Marcos, she had no financial interest in his home.

Also in March, Hamilton’s real estate agent, June Scott, said the residence had been up for sale since last fall. Reached Monday night, Scott said she no longer had the listing, adding, “I was told that it was sold in May by one of Mr. Hamilton’s advisers.”

Late Monday, Jim Hanrahan, who said he was staying in the house on Summit Drive, told The Times that the home had been sold, but he did not know the date of the transaction. He said Hamilton is in Europe making a movie.

The Filipino government, through its Presidential Commission on Good Government, charges in its suit that during the 20 years that Marcos served as president, earning a salary of $5,600 a year, he accumulated more than $1.55 billion.

“At least $4.8 million of this amount is presently located in California, about $7 million is located in the state of Hawaii, approximately $50 million is located in the state of New York and about $1.5 billion is located in Switzerland,” the suit says.

The action accuses Marcos of engaging in a pattern of racketeering from November, 1965, to February 25, 1986, through the “enterprise” of the Filipino government.

At first, Pfaelzer expressed grave concerns over whether the case violates U.S. statutes governing racketeering and whether the court would have jurisdiction if it did. She finally ruled that a prima facie case of jurisdiction had been established by attorney Richard B. Kendall, representing the Philippines government.

Attorney John J. Bartko, representing Marcos and his wife, argued that the suit was trying to make a U.S. court the forum for the affairs of the Philippines for the past 20 years.